The Bold in the Cold Half Marathon 2012

On my first race of the new year, I chose the 15th edition -- Bold in the Cold Half Marathon on Saturday, January 7.  This was a LGRAW race held at their club location at Oak Grove Park, Grapevine TX.  This was the first year they added the half to the 15k and 5k races.  To prepare for this race, I trained by myself at a park near my home until this past week when I started my first week back of early speed training with my Run On! coach Daniel Hagelberg.   At the start of the race, the temperature was in the low 40s with very little wind.  I picked up my tech t-shirt and old time chip timer and made my way to the starting line.  The Half and the 15k started at the same and ran the first 9.3 mile together. After a fast start, I was running with six 30 something ladies that were running the 15k.  We seemed to be running the same pace, but I still had another four miles to go.  The race started on the street, transitioned to a trail with very challenging hills...and that was just the first half of the race.  We had to double  back and do it again on our way to the finish line.   The Volunteers did a great job directing us and keeping us hydrated  by passing out water and Gatorade. Just past the half way mark, Dallas Morning News blogger and avid runner, 65 year old Spareribs Lamothe, just passed me up.  I've never finished ahead of him in all the times that we've raced together.  I knew that he was a strong runner, so I was just trying to keep him in my sights to push myself to get the best time.  I was running an 8:30 pace at the turnoff of the 15k.  I wished the ladies good luck as we split off in different directions.  My 15k time was 1:21:17.  At the 10 mile mark, my pace slowed as I started to get fatigued.  With one mile to go a Run On! lady-coach and partner passed me up.  This inspired me to finish up strong.   I finished my fourth Half Marathon (in 3 1/2 months) with a new PR time (personal record) of 1:55   :48.9.  I placed 5th out of 13 in the 60-64 age group, 99 out of 180 men, and 122 out 328 overall Half finishers.  I ended up with an 8:50 overall pace.  I finished 12 seconds  behind Spareribs.  Thanks to Spareribs and the beautiful ladies for pushing me towards the finish line.            Place     Bib#    Men    Overall   Chip Time    Pace 5/13      1994   99/180  122/328   1:55:48.9    8:50 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Plano Pacers Holiday Hustle

On the last day of 2011, I raced in the Plano Pacers Holiday Hustle 3K and 8K at Bob Woodruff Park in Plano Texas. This was one of the Plano Pacers' monthly races, open to club members and guests alike. It only costs $25.00 for an annual membership, and $10.00 per race for guests, which is a pretty good deal. Since I had never run a 3K race before, I decided to do the shorter 1.86 mile 3K. The temperature was about 37 degrees at the start of the race.  Both the 3K and 8K races started together at the same time. We ran a short distance around the pond in front of the closed pavilion that is being remodeled. Then, the 3K runners turned left, on to another trail that went out of park info area. I had never been to this part of the park before, so I took a look around while I raced. At this point, we ran to another pavilion then turned around toward the finish line which was on the trail by the starting pavilion.  I ran as fast as I could. My goal was to finish the race in under 14 minutes. Here's how I actually did: I ran the 1st mile in 7:29 according to my Garmin timer, and ran the last .86 miles at a 6:50 / mile pace. I crossed the finish line in a final time of 14:15.6, just narrowly missing my goal.  The finish was good enough to place 2 out of 6 in my age group, 22 out of 55 men, and 23 out of 81 overall 3K finishers. There were a total of 122 8K runners, and 10 clydesdale / athena finishers. There was also a Jr. Sprint race for the very young children, but I'm not sure how many competed.  Thinking back on this race, I remember that around this time I just lost about 5 lbs of the 10 I gained during the holidays. Basically, I started drinking more water and stopped eating the extra (healthy) snacks that I had been eating for my half marathon training.  We all say that we will start exercising and eating right at the beginning of every new year. However, most of us stop after a few weeks. When it comes down to it, every person has to decide for themselves to change the way they live. For me, the change came after I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007. The doctors and staff at USMD Prostate Cancer Center, where I was successfully treated, recommended that I excursive and eat healthier so that I could avoid a recurrence. I took their advice and decided to change my life. Since then, I ran my first competitive race ever in October of 2009, and I have finished 3 half marathons with a 4th one coming up soon.   Place  Bib#     Men    Overall     Time     Pace  Age Grade 2/6    2787  22/55   23/81   14:15.6   7:39    73.1 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Carrollton Running Club 5K and 1 Mile

I ran in both races of the monthly Carrollton Running Club event, on Monday, December 26, 2011; the day after Christmas. As usual, the event took place at Mcinnish Park in Carrollton, Texas. After setting a new 5K personal record of 23:45 at the Jingle Bell Run, I wanted to try to break my club and personal record in the 1 mile race.  It was 38 degrees and cloudy on race day, which suited me fine. The 1 mile race started at 7:40 AM. I finished in the time of 7:17.66, a new record for me. I didn't have time to celebrate though since the 5K race started a few minutes later at 7:57 AM.  The park was closed for the Christmas holiday, and there was a closed road gate, so the race director, Ruben Sagyil, had to change our normal 5K course. Once the fastest runner ran the correct course, everyone else simply followed each other to the finish. Because of the new course, we actually ran 3.24 miles instead of 3.1 miles. However, Ruben graciously adjusted everyone's time. I finished the 5K in 25:40.  There were 19 first time sign ups at this event, which is excellent. The men's, and overall, winner was Tommy Brown of Florida. The women's winner was Kim Rogers-Tracy. There were no awards given out at this low cost race.  Registration is only $2.00, so that's kind of an award in itself. However, Ruben gave me a tote bag and water bottle from MOTOACTV for my 1 mile club PR. Kim, who ran with her family, received the same prize. The week after this event, I went back to my early speed training class at Run-On! The first day we run a magic mile, which helps the coach evaluate which training group will be best. As always, special thanks to Dr. Justin Lee and all of the staff at USMD Prostate Cancer Center in Arlington, Texas. None of this would be possible without their life changing surgery. 1 Mile Results: Place    Bib#    Men    Overall   Chip Time   Age Grade 1/2     7051   6/10     6/12      7:17.66        63.2% 5K Results: Place    Bib#     Men     Overall   Chip Time   Pace    Age Grade  1/3    7051   14/25    16/45       25:40       8:15      62.5% I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com